New DirtJerry, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it!2016-06-17T23:04:27Zhttp://www.newdirt.org/feed/atom/WordPressnewdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=42302016-04-09T21:41:28Z2015-06-12T18:46:29ZFollow these 4 simple steps if you want to switch Your iPhone from AT&T to Straight Talk.

3. Activate Your SIM Over the Phone or Online

If you want to keep the same number you had with AT&T and are doing the activation online, make sure to select “Activate my Straight Talk Service with a number from another company”. Have your AT&T account number and password ready. DO NOT cancel your AT&T service before activating your Straight Talk SIM if you want to port your number.

4. Insert your new Straight Talk SIM and Wait for Activation

After completing the activation request, wait until your current AT&T service has been disabled (“No Service” status), then insert your new Straight Talk SIM.

Activation can be quick but according to Straight Talk it can take up to a few hours. If you don’t want to risk being without service at a crucial time, do the activation at night before going to bed or at a time when you don’t expect to use your phone.

Once activation has been successful, your status bar should display “TFW” instead of “AT&T”. Test your phone by making a phone call. If this works, you are now on Straight Talk!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I keep my current phone number?
Yes, you can port your number to Straight Talk at no charge.

What do I need to do if I want to port my number?
If you want to port your number, DO NOT call to cancel your AT&T service before activating your Straight Talk SIM. Once the porting process is completed, AT&T will automatically cancel your account and send a Final Bill.

Do I need to unlock or jailbreak my iPhone before switching to Straight Talk?
No, you DON’T need to unlock or jailbreak your AT&T iPhone for it to work on Straight Talk.

Do I need to update my iPhone’s APN settings in order to send MMS and access the Internet?
If your phone is running iOS version 7.03 or later, the APN settings should update automatically when your Straight Talk service is activated. If you can access web pages, then your settings have been updated. If your phone is using an earlier iOS version, you must update to the latest version available for your phone model.

Do I have to sign a contract with Straight Talk?
No. Straight Talk offers prepaid monthly plans.

Can I switch to Straight Talk before my ATT contract ends?
Yes, but if you switch companies before your contract ends, AT&T will charge you Early Termination Fees. For further details, see AT&T’s Early Termination Fees.

What do I need to do to unlock my AT&T iPhone?
To request an unlock from AT&T, your phone needs to be out of contract or you should’ve paid early termination fees. You can then request your iPhone to be unlocked at att.com/deviceunlock/.

Will AT&T pro rate my bill if I switch at the beginning of my billing cycle?
AT&T will NOT pro rate your final bill, so make sure you switch before your new billing cycle starts.

Activation didn’t work or I had other issues. What do I do?
Call Straight Talk at 1-877-430-2355 for assistance.

]]>13newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=40352015-06-13T18:38:46Z2015-06-08T23:15:47ZThese are 6 great secured credit cards for establishing or re-establishing credit (all cards report to the 3 credit bureaus). This list includes two cards by credit unions. A lot of credit unions offer great benefits to their members like no annual fees, low APR’s and more personalized service. If you have been denied by the big banks, my suggestion is to visit your local credit unions and find out if you are eligible for an unsecured or secured credit card with them.

Please make sure to leave your comments below, especially if you have experience with any of these cards or if you want to recommend other secured cards. I have experience using both the Capital One and the Bank of America secured cards. I used these two cards successfully to rebuild my credit, however, any secured card should work for you if used responsibly.

Secured Credit Card Descriptions

Capital One Secured Master Card. Required Security Deposit: $49, $99 or $200 based on your credit. You can deposit more than your minimum required deposit in order to get a higher credit line (up to $3000). APR: 24.9% variable. Annual Fee: $0. Eligibility: Anybody can apply. Fico Credit Score Needed: This card is for people Rebuilding Credit. Graduation: No. Benefits: None. Reports as: Unsecured.

Bank of America Secured Visa. Required Security Deposit: a minimum of $300 or up to $4,900. Your limit will be determined by your income, ability to pay and the amount of the security deposit you provide APR: 20.24% variable. Annual Fee: $39. Eligibility: Anybody can apply. Fico Credit Score Needed: N/A.Graduation: After 12 months, your account may be reviewed and you could qualify to have your security deposit returned while you continue to use your card Benefits: cash back (1% everywhere, 2% at grocery stores and 3% on gas). Reports as: Secured.

Navy Federal Credit Union Rewards Secured Visa. Required Security Deposit: $500 minimum. Your credit line will be equal to your security deposit. APR: as low as 8.99%, based on your credit. Annual Fee: $0. Eligibility: You have to be in the military or related to someone who is to be eligible. Benefits: Rewards (earn one point for every dollar you spend). Reports as: Unsecured.

EMV Savings Secured Visa Platinum Card. Required Security Deposit: $250. Your credit line will be equal to your security deposit. Your deposit will also earn interest. APR: as low as 6.99% variable. Annual Fee: $0. Eligibility: You may join SDFCU if you are an employee of The Department of State or one of these organizations. Additionally, you may be eligible to join SDFCU through the American Consumer Council (ACC) (cost is $5). Fico Credit Score Needed: N/A. Graduation: N/A. Benefits: Flexpoints Rewards for every $1 spent. Reports as: Secured.

Discover it Secured Credit Card. You will not find information for this card online. You have to apply for a Discover It card and if you’re denied, you might get a counteroffer for their secured card. Required Security Deposit: N/A. APR: 22.99% variable. Annual Fee: $0. Eligibility: Anyone can apply. Fico Credit Score Needed: N/A. Graduation: after 12 months. Benefits: cash back (1% on purchases and 5% on rotating categories). Free TransUnion FICO score. Reports as: Unsecured.

]]>1newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=40062016-04-02T21:56:03Z2015-06-02T19:46:25ZFor several years, our daughter had been saving money she had received as birthday, Christmas gifts, etc. She kept it all in a bulky wallet, since she thought having 50 singles was cooler and somehow more money than a $50 bill. We decided to open a savings account for her so it would be safe from misplacement or curious little visitors going through her stuff.

We live in South Florida and we looked online to see what was available in our area. We were surprised that there are not a lot of options when it comes to savings accounts for minors. Several banks offer different options and these are the ones we found:

TD Bank Young Savers Account. It is for minors under 18, offers an APY of 0.05% and there is no minimum to open the account. There is no monthly maintenance fee. You can check out the Young Savers Account Guide here.

Wells Fargo Kids Savings Account for minors under 18. It has a $25 opening minimum and has several set up options like joint ownership (with a parent), sole ownership among others.

We decided to go with the Young Savers Account from TD bank. At the time, there was a Summer Reading Program in which kids could earn $10 by filling out a form with a list of 10 books they had read during the summer. That was a neat bonus. It seems like they have this program every summer, so make sure your kid fills out the form if you decide to go with TD Bank.

TD bank is pretty kid-friendly, there are plenty of pens, free lollipops and a coin machine where kids can count all of their change. Before the machine starts counting, it will let them guess how much money they brough. If their estimate is within $2, the’ll win a small prize (a piggy bank).

Our daughter enjoys receiving her bank statements in the mail and checking her balance online. She loves going to TD Bank to use the ATM and deposit money, even if it is $1.67. She also collects coins constantly to go to the change machine and guess the amount. She’s withdrawn and deposited money several times and after a couple of years of having her first savings account, it has been a good experience.

]]>0newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=38782015-06-20T19:46:20Z2015-05-29T22:53:56ZOur daughter is 10 years old and finishing fifth grade next week. She’s one of the few, if not the only one in her class that does not have a phone yet. Of course she’s been asking for one for the past three years, but we have not seen a real need for her to have a phone. And when I say phone, I mean smartphone. No kid today wants a flip phone. And when they say phone, they mean iPhone.

Her school is three blocks away from our place, and at her age she really does not need her own phone to call or text her friends. As parents, we are pro-technology, but if a kid does not need a gadget, especially one that could get them in trouble, we don’t see the need for it just because it’s cool or because some other kid has it.

But now the story is changing. She’s entering middle school in a few months and her new school is 10 miles away, in a busy metropolitan area with no transportation. We might have to carpool or pay for private transportation so now, she definitely needs a phone.

We have set a budget of $200 or under. We would also be purchasing a pre-paid plan from Straight Talk or ATT, not signing a contract, which means we’ll be buying an unlocked phone.

The 5 smartphones under $200 we are considering:

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini (Unlocked): My mom has a Galaxy and it seems like a cool little phone. Some people swear by these Samsungs. It’s small and has stellar reviews on Amazon. It’s a little over $200 but still made the list. There is also the S3 Mini Version, which goes for $120.

Motorola Moto G 8GB (Unlocked): This is an Android phone with a lot of great reviews. 5-inch 720p HD display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (I suppose this means it’s durable). It’s around $180 but Amazon Warehousedeals has them for $150 (open box).

LG G2 Mini 8GB (Unlocked). This is an Android phone. Expandable up to 32GB by micro SD card. It’s also small, perfect for small hands. Apparently it has good battery life.

Used iPhone 5C 8GB (Unlocked): As freelancers, we live on a budget and have gotten used to buying used gear. There are some really great deals on Craigslist, eBay, or Amazon Warehouse Deals if you are patient and look for them. I’ve seen the iPhone 5C on Craigslist for as low as $150 and on Amazon for under $200. And what’s there to say about an iPhone that hasn’t been mentioned before? Plus, she already has an iPad so she would already be used to the way it works.

Amazon Fire Phone 32GB (Unlocked): This is a $450 phone but currently on sale for $179. It includes a one year subscription to Amazon Prime which we have and love. We could buy a new smartphone at a low price ($79) while renewing our Prime subscription ($100). It’s a pretty good deal. However, we went to a local cellphone store to check the Fire Phone out, and we thought it was a little too big. If you see the original price of $449, you’ll have to check back again in a few days as this phone is put on sale frequently.

The summer is approaching and our deadline looming, so we need to get her something soon. The only smartphones we’ve owned have been iPhones, so we don’t have much experience with other brands. She should only need the phone to call or text us, and perhaps a friend or two…right? I guess we can’t ignore the pre-teen madness and desire for independence that awaits us.

So which phone should we get her? We’ll start our phone hunt soon and we’ll keep you updated. We’d also like to hear your suggestions. One thing’s for sure, if she looses this one, we’re getting her a flip phone.

]]>0newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=36822015-05-26T12:59:13Z2015-02-28T22:33:17ZYour iMac is slow, frequently freezing over a short period of time. The spinning beach ball of death! You know something’s going on and sure enough, your computer dies and you find out you need a new hard drive! There used to be a time when buying an Apple computer meant having a working computer for many years. Well, not anymore…

After my hard drive died, the second one since purchasing my iMac in 2010, I made an appointment at my local Genius Bar to see if I could get it replaced. This time I was told my computer was now considered “vintage”, and they do not service it anymore. I guess they’re hoping that by labeling it vintage, I will spend another $1800 on a new computer. The truth is, I can’t afford to pay for expensive labor even less purchase a new computer. I also can’t afford to be without a computer, my only option then, is to replace the hard drive myself. But which hard drive should I get? I sure would like to stay the hell away from another Seagate drive (the brand that came stock with my iMac and the same drive Apple used later as a replacement). Also, I have never replaced an internal hard drive before. So here comes Google…

After doing some research, I found out that Segate’s 1TB, 2TB and 3TB Barracuda internal hard drives have a high annual failure rate. Apple was aware these drives were defective as my first hard drive was replaced through one of their hard drive replacement programs. I don’t need any more proof. I’ve now had two 1TB Seagate Barracuda drives die on me, I’m definitely ready to try a different brand. Or so I think. Backblaze.com, a cloud backup company, reported earlier this year that the 3TB Seagate Barracuda drives in their data center had an annual failure rate of 43.1%. Not good! On the other hand, all their 4TB hard drives (WD, HGST or Seagate) had the lowest annual failure rates. Their Seagate 4TB Desktop HDD.15 hard drives had a low annual failure rate of 2.6%. This Seagate model is also the cheapest option within the 4TB drives (the HGST 4TB drives priced a little higher, had an even lower failure rate, but not enough of a difference to be a big factor according to them). This is the only reason I’m giving Seagate one more chance. At least this time I have some sort of data to backup my decision. So here comes Amazon…

Along with the 4TB Seagate drive I purchased from Amazon, I ordered an upgrade kit from OWC. OWC has an installation video on youtube that proved to be extremely helpful. The installation was not as hard as I though, you just have to follow each step carefully and make sure you make the right connections. It took me about an hour, but I was able to do the installation myself, upgrade to a 4TB drive and stay under a $200 budget. The OWC kit came with the necessary installation tools and a thermal sensor cable that “eliminates fan noise and maintains proper system fan control”, a known problem with this iMac model. This sensor cable got rid of the horrible fan noise problem I had since Apple replaced my hard drive. The OWC kit also “fixes firmware incompatibility issues with third party hard drives”. This means you can install whichever hard drive brand you prefer.

If you are looking for a hard drive replacement for your Late 2009 iMac (I have the 27 inch model), you have several options: the Seagate ST4000DM000, WD Green WD40EZRX, HGST Deskstar 0S03664, among many others (just make sure you get the OWC kit). If you do buy a Seagate, go for the 4TB model (stay away from the Barracuda models).

It has only been a few weeks since I installed the 4TB Seagate HDD.15 internal hard drive in my “vintage” iMac. Only time will tell if this one will last…

]]>9newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=35442013-10-29T21:27:01Z2013-10-23T02:00:12ZI just updated my iPhone 4s to iOS 7.0.3 and was a little worried about losing data or picture messaging. I brought my out of contract iPhone from AT&T to Straight Talk less than two weeks ago and I didn’t want to go through setting mms again using the SIM swap method. I’m glad to report that everything seems to be A-ok. Both mms and data are working as they should after the upgrade.

After rebooting, I was given an option to update the phone’s “carrier settings”. Upon doing so, my status bar changed from “HOME” to “TFW”. Also “Network” and “Carrier” now read “TFW” instead of “AT&T” (it’s great not to see the AT&T name on my phone anymore). For those of you who might be wondering what TFW means, it stands for TracFone Wireless. Tracfone offers services under various brands including Straight Talk, NET10 Wireless and Simple Mobile.

I’m curious to know if somebody has any problems to report after the 7.0.3/carrier update? Please leave me a comment if you are experiencing any issues.

Troubleshooting:

Some people with the old Straight Talk SIM card (the one using att.mvno APN settings) are reporting they’ve lost mms and data after the TFW carrier update. In the other hand, people with the new Straight Talk SIM (using tfdata APN settings) are reporting both mms and data work without doing anything else. This means NO MORE SIM SWAPS required with the new carrier update for people with the new Straight Talk SIM card. Great news!

If you lost data and/or mms after the carrier update, this is what you’ll need to do:

1. Double check you are on iOS 7.0.3 and carrier update TFW 15.6.2. Call Straight Talk customer service at 1-800-299-7784 from a second phone line (you’ll need to reboot your phone during the process).3. Let them know you are having technical problems and that your SIM needs to be provisioned for the new tfdata settings. Straight Talk will provision your account to accept the new carrier settings. MMS and data should start working again after this (if the customer service representative doesn’t seem to know what you are talking about, ask to be transferred to a more technical department).

If you don’t feel like calling customer service, here are two other options:

– For $6.99 you can order a new AT&T SIM from Straight Talk or Walmart, these will use the new tfdata APN. You can then activate the new SIM online or by phone.or
– SIM swap and change back to the old att.mvno APN settings.

I recommend either calling Straight Talk or getting the new SIM. It looks like they have finally fixed the bug that caused data and MMS not to work with Straight Talk iPhones and these two options offer a permanent solution.

]]>40newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=33932015-06-13T23:21:00Z2013-10-13T17:12:47ZClick here for updated and simpler instructions on how to switch your iPhone from AT&T to Straight Talk (2015).
I’ve been an unhappy AT&T customer for years and I have decided it is time for me to leave. Paying more than $200 a month for a two iPhone family plan with limited minutes is just ridiculous. Gladly, there are now other options. I’ll be saving 50% or more on my cell phone bill so I’ll definitely give Straight Talk a chance and see what they have to offer. I can always leave if it does not work out, but whatever happens, I will not do business with AT&T again.

I’ll be porting my number and requesting AT&T to unlock my iPhone 4S (the same instructions apply for the iPhone 6, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c or iPhone 3GS, read below for more details). I’m not a computer programmer or hacker, so if I can get this thing working, I’m sure you’ll be able to do it as well. I will be updating this post during the following months to report on Straight Talk’s iPhone service, so make sure to check back every now and then to ask questions or post feedback.

You can call Straight Talk directly or go to their website. There is no need for a physical card as long as you have a credit card to pay for the service.

My phone: AT&T iPhone 4s (iOS 7.1.2)Last blog update: May 2015Straight Talk Service Review: I’ve been on Straight Talk since October 2013 and so far my experience has been great. By switching I was able reduce my cell phone bill by 50% and I haven’t noticed any difference in my service. I will never return to ATT!

UPDATE: After updating to iOS 7.0.3, I’m glad to report both data and MMS are working as they should. This means that with the carrier update provided with iOS 7.0.3, switching your AT&T iPhone to Straight Talk should be a lot simpler than it was before. After activation, insert the SIM and you should be ready to go! Read steps 1 & 3 for instructions. Step 4 “updating data settings” is no longer needed and you can ignore it.

Here are the steps I’ve taken to switch from AT&T to Straight Talk. This is a guideline of what you’ll have to do. If you are thinking about switching or are in the process of doing so, I’m sure you’ll find it helpful. Straight Talk will provide detailed instructions on the activation process.

These are the steps I followed:

I ordered a Micro Sim Card fromStraight Talk. You can also order it from Amazon. You’ll need an “AT&T compatible SIM”. If you have an iPhone 6 plus, 6, 5, 5s or 5c, you’ll need a Nano SIM Card. If you have an iPhone 4 or 4S, you’ll need a Micro Sim Card. iPhone 3G and 3GS users will need the Standard Size SIM (used for older phones). You can buy the “AT&T Compatible Micro SIM + Unlimited Plan” or just the Micro SIM by itself. You’ll have a chance to pay for the plan with a credit card when you do the activation if you only buy the SIM. I purchased mine directly from Straight Talk as there was no other option back then. Shipping was free and the SIM was delivered in 3 days. NOTE: AT&T will NOT pro rate your final bill, so make sure you switch before your new billing cycle starts.

(OPTIONAL) I waited until my AT&T contract ended and requested my iPhone to be unlocked atatt.com/deviceunlock/. If you switch companies before your contract ends, AT&T will charge you Early Termination Fees. To request an unlock from AT&T, your phone needs to be out of contract or you should’ve paid early termination fees. You DON’T need to unlock your AT&T iPhone for it to work on Straight Talk, but as of now, you need to unlock it to have picture messaging working (MMS). A few minutes after requesting the unlock, I received an email saying: “We have received your request to unlock your AT&T Mobile device” and later, another email later saying “We have reviewed your request and confirmed that the device may be unlocked. Please allow 24 hours upon receipt of this notification to complete the unlock process“. Check here to read Eligibility Requirements for Unlocking All AT&T Mobile Devices. You will need to restore your phone via iTunes to complete the unlock (make sure to backup your data first).

I followed the instructions on the Straight Talk Activation kit. You’ll be activating your SIM either by phone or online. I did my activation online at www.straighttalk.com/activate. Choose the activation option that fits your needs. If you want to keep the same number you had with AT&T, make sure to select “Activate my Straight Talk Service with a number from another company” (have your AT&T account number ready). After completing the activation request, wait for your current AT&T service to stop (“No Service” status). When your service has been disabled, you can then insert your new Straight Talk SIM. Surprisingly, for me this only took about 10 minutes, though the instructions say activation can take up to 48 hours. Once you have your new SIM installed, your status bar should now display “HOME” instead of “AT&T”. Test your phone by making a phone call. If this works, you are now on Straight Talk.
NOTE: If you want to port your number, DO NOT call to cancel your AT&T service before activating your Straight Talk SIM. Once the porting process is completed AT&T will automatically cancel your account and send a Final Bill.

(NO LONGER NEEDED. SKIP THIS STEP!) I updated my data settings. You need to do this in order to get your data (internet) working. While on Wi-Fi, open Safari and type in iapnupdatetfdata.straighttalk.com. Tap “Install” then tap “Install Now. Enter your pass code if prompted, and tap “Done. At this point exit your browser, turn the Wi-Fi off, and re-boot your phone. With the Wi-Fi off, access Safari to ensure your data connection is working.

Troubleshooting: If online activation didn’t work or if you encountered any issues, call Straight Talk at 1-800-299-7784 for assistance (you can also post your question below and I’ll try my best to answer it).

That’s it your’re done!

(NO LONGER NEEDED. SKIP THIS STEP!) Enabling MMS/Picture Messaging

This process is a little more involved but it’s doable. It requires you to buy a T-Mobile SIM card to enter the correct data settings for your Straight Talk service. APN settings are “hidden” in AT&T iPhones (’cause they want to keep you as a customer forever), so you need to briefly insert a T-Mobile SIM card in order to access and update the APN settings (not hidden for T-Mobile customers).

Here’s a basic guideline of what you’ll need to do. Check the provided links for step by step image/video instructions.

1. For iPhone 4S, order a T-mobile Micro SIM like this one from eBay or purchase one at Target (for iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c purchase a Nano SIM).2. Remove your Straight Talk SIM and Insert your T-Mobile SIM.3. Go to: Settings-> Cellular -> Cellular Data Network (or wait for Cellular Data Network to show up and then select Cellular Data Network, this is why you got the T-Mobile SIM for)4. Go to Home and open Notes.5. Insert your Straight Talk SIM again. Wait for phone to change from “NO SIM” -> “Searching” -> “HOME”.6. Double Tap and go back to the Cellular Data Network page.7. Enter Your Cellular Data Settings. These are the data settings that worked for my iPhone 4s, which are the settings for the newer Straight Talk SIMS:

Leave fields not listed here blank. You might have to re-enter some of the settings again as you’ll see they’ll go back to their default values when you scroll down.
APN tfdata
MMS APN: tfdata
MMSC http://mms-tf.net
MMS Proxy: mms3.tracfone.com:80
MMS Max Message Size: 1048576

]]>38newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=5872016-04-02T22:27:31Z2012-06-04T20:18:08ZI applied for the Paypal Mastercard a few days ago, but was approved for the PayPal Smart Connect line of credit instead. My credit is not that great, but I’ve been able to gradually bring my scores up with the aid of two secured cards (CapOne and BOA). I’ve been approved for an Ally Auto Loan and now this line of credit since I started rebuilding my credit about a year and a half ago.

Why I chose Paypal? I’ve been active as an occasional eBay buyer and seller for the past ten years and I use PayPal every month to pay for different services (from domain name renewals and online memberships to sometimes accepting payments associated with my occupation). I thought either the Paypal Mastercard or PayPal Smart Connect would be a great option to continue re-establishing my credit history. It would also help my credit mix as I currently do not have any retail cards and I didn’t want to get just any retail card for the sake of having one.

For those of you who haven’t heard about this card before, PayPal Smart Connect is a credit line offered originally through GE Capital Retail Bank (GECRB), now Synchrony Bank. It is not a physical credit card, but a line of credit linked to your PayPal account. However, if you have a Paypal debit card you can set this line of credit as your backup fund and pretty much use your debit card as a regular credit card. It has no annual fee and can be used anywhere PayPal is accepted. Additionally, your PayPal debit card will earn you a 1% cash back from every purchase. Not a lot, but it’s something.

PayPal Smart Connect has a pretty high APR (26.99%), but as I said before, I will use this credit line for rebuilding. I will pay my balance in full every month, so I don’t really care about the APR. Also, I’ve read comments from other people using PayPal Smart Connect saying you can request credit line increases every four statements. This is an automated request done through the phone with no hard pull, so I’m looking forward to that. I appreciate when banks let you grow and reward you for being responsible.

August: Received $300 automatic increase after using it a lot during first 2 statements. New credit limit: $800.

December: Requested a credit line increase through their automated phone service. Received a $500 increase for a new credit limit of $1300.

2013 Timeline

April: Requested a credit line increase through their automated phone service. Received a $200 increase for a new credit limit of $1500.

August: Requested a credit line increase through their automated phone service. Received a $2000 increase for a new credit limit of $3500.

2016 Timeline

April: Received a letter saying that my Paypal Smart Connect is being upgraded to the PayPal Extras Mastercard.

PROS: Got an automatic credit line increase after only two statements. After this, I’ve been approved for credit line increases every 4 statements. GE is known to be generous about giving credit line increases and apparently you can request one every 4 months/statements. This is all done through their customer service number. It’s automated, painless and they only do a soft pull.CONS: No physical credit card given, but line of credit can be linked to your PayPal debit card which can then be used as a regular credit card.

OVERALL REVIEW: I was initially approved for a $500 credit line. This was my first unsecured credit approval in years. I’ve had this line of credit for about 4 years and my credit line is currently at $4000. Along with a couple of other credit cards, this PayPal card offered by Synchrony Bank (originally GE) has helped me rebuild and re-establish my credit. I use PayPal Smart connect often for eBay purchases and other PayPal payments. After almost four years of having this account, I received a letter saying that my Paypal Smart Connect is being upgraded to the PayPal Extras Mastercard. My APR was also lowered to 24%. Still very high, but they did lower it.

I will update this review again when or if I have something new to add. Please feel free to ask questions, add comments or share your experience with this line of credit.

]]>32newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=5092015-06-11T12:17:58Z2012-01-25T19:17:31ZAfter my credit score had not improved in months, I realized that the only credit card on my report was not going to be enough. I needed a second credit card with a higher limit to help boost my scores. Since I was in the process of rebuilding, my chances of getting a prime unsecured credit card were really slim to none, especially since I still had some old delinquencies on my reports. So after considering all my credit options, I decided to apply for the Bank of America Secured Visa Card.

I applied in person and was approved. I already had a checking account with Bank of America, so I figured it would be easier to get approved by them. I’ve heard that even though this is a secured card, not everybody gets approved, so I guess these two things worked well for me.

The following timeline will give you an idea of the progress I’ve had with the Bank of America Fully Secured Visa Card. If you are using or have used this card in the past, feel free to post your comments. If you are considering applying, don’t hesitate to post your questions. You can read more about this card and other related topics in our forums.

I am not a credit expert, this is my personal experience dealing with Bank of America and a description of how I used their secured credit card in order to rebuild my credit. If you are interested in checking the progress I had with my first secured card, the Capital One Secured Visa Card, please read: “Capital One Secured Credit Card Review“.

Credit Score:

Starting Credit Score: 636 (Experian)

Strategy:

Keep credit card balance below 30% and pay in full each month

Take care of negative items on credit report

Take advantage of the cash rewards this card offers

Timeline:

November 2, 2011: Credit score went from 579 to 636 after paying off two collection accounts on my report (a 57 point jump!). I had been stuck on the same score for months.

November 3, 2011: Applied for card in person at Bank of America. Was denied for an unsecured card but approved for a Cash Rewards Fully Secured Credit Card with a credit line option of $300 up to 10,000 depending on my deposit. After 12 months the account will be reviewed and If everything goes as planned, it will be unsecured and I will get my deposit back. Made a $4k deposit. I didn’t even know that a cash rewards secured card existed. I’m hoping that the larger limit will help my score

November 4, 2011: Not even 24 hours after opening this secured card, it’s already showing on my report as “Current”. My score improved 29 points just for opening this new account. My new Experian score is 665! I couldn’t be happier (86 points in two days)

November 10, 2011: Received my card in the mail.

November 12, 2011: Made an extra 1k deposit over the phone which was applied to my account on the same day. I had to give all my information again to do this, but noticed they didn’t do a hard pull as I had read on other forums (probably because they still had my application and report on their system).

January 7, 2012: I have paid first two statements in full and on time. I’m trying to take advantage of the cash rewards so I pay everything I would pay cash with this card and then pay the balance.

November 11, 2012: My card graduated after using it and paying it on time for one year. I called the bank at the one year mark and my card was unsecured, my security deposit refunded.

Comments: My credit score went up 29 points right after this account posted as open on my reports. At exactly the one year mark my card was unsecured and my security deposit refunded. To this day, I still have this card and have been able to greatly improve my credit scores by always paying on time and never exceeding my credit limit.

Review:

Final Rating: This is an excellent secured card and I would recommend it to anyone looking to rebuild or establish credit. It’s one of the only rewards secured card I know of and eligible to unsecure after only 10-12 months.

]]>24newdirt.orghttp://www.newdirt.org/?p=4692011-09-15T20:59:25Z2011-09-15T20:59:25ZAfter some weeks of being unable to upgrade one of my WordPress blogs using the automatic update, I was finally able to find a solution. If you are trying to upgrade to WordPress 3.2.1, using the automatic update and 1and1 is hosting your blog, then you should try the following (make sure you have tried doing the update after disabling all your plugins first):